Fuel Efficiency and the Yaris

[BailOut]

voodoo22! That is awesome, and it is a new world record for single tank MPG with the 1.5L Yaris! A combination of self discipline, technique, planning and a fair amount of luck combined to create a magical tank. I love it when a plan comes together!

You've set the bar way up there, my friend.

My own FE experience has been much different lately. I haven't been driving much, maybe once or twice per week. I bicycle to/from a carpool, I've been using public transportation to get to/from my company's data center colocation in Sacramento, I've been bicycling the grocery run and almost all my errands, telecommuting one day per week, etc. When I do drive it's usually to haul mountain bikes over the mountain for a commute on our organized ride day (which will change if Nashbar ever gets around to sending me my bicycle lights as I'll be able to trailer my MTB to the carpool with the road bicycle and return home late at night with it) or to take my Little Brother out for an activity.

My Little and I are scheduled to go for a MTB ride on a beginner trail this Saturday and I plan to get to and from his house on the north side of town, get us both to and from the trail area, to lunch and then back to his house only using public transportation and pedal power.

I'll be making another Sacramento run later this week. I already have my Greyhound tickets and exact change for city bus/rail fares ready.

However, my Yaris is still being driven a bit as I've been able to get my wife to use it for her needs in lieu of her Tacoma some days. While this saves a ton of gasoline she doesn't hypermile at all so my last tank was a paradox. It lasted a whopping 22 days but came out at just 45 MPG. This is the kind of scenario where simple mileage tracking doesn't accurately reflect the actual fuel usage and savings.

[voodoo22]

Originally Posted by BailOut

It lasted a whopping 22 days but came out at just 45 MPG. This is the kind of scenario where simple mileage tracking doesn't accurately reflect the actual fuel usage and savings.

We've really reduced our driving to the bare minimum, but unfortunately biking and public transit aren't an option for me. Luckily my wife can walk to work, because of where we live, so that offsets some of my commute.

I've been reading about your biking on cleanmpg. It's awesome that you are putting the effort into using the car only when needed. I hope you're able to keep that up, at least until winter

I can't believe we're sitting here complaining about only 45 mpg in the Yaris. 99% of people would kill for that number, but we're too disciplined now to be happy with that number. You should keep track of the miles you bike and walk which you would have driven before and add them to your tank as free miles on a chart. It's more difficult to figure out how you would add public transit miles, but either way, you're doing a lot better than me now for our environment. When we move next I really hope I will be able to get to work in one the ways you do now.

Thanks for the kind words and keep up the good example of what you can do if you can put your mind to it!